205HP Bolt-On

For the past year, the biggest story in Camaroland has been the upcoming ZL1 and its 580hp, Eaton-supercharged, LSA engine. The ZL1 MSRP starts at $54,000. For the most powerful production Camaro of all time, especially in today’s world of high-priced everything, it’s possible to believe a $60,000 Camaro is a bargain. Chevrolet will certainly sell every one of them built, but for most of us, that’s a lot of coin.

2/6Vortech’s test bed is a ’10 Camaro six-speed that is stone-stock save for an upgraded McLeod clutch and Mickey Thompson Drag Radials on Weld drag wheels, both required to handle the new power.

While the ZL1 is a lot more than just its engine—the suspension, appearance, and everything else differentiates it from lesser Camaros and makes it what it is: an all-around badass—the biggest grin for most drivers will come when they mat the gas pedal and feel all that power. But you can get a similar thrill with an SS Camaro for a lot less money, via Vortech’s new kit.

The factory Eaton blower mounts on top of the engine like a good-old-fashioned Roots blower, but Vortech’s kit uses its popular V-3 Si-trim centrifugal unit that mounts like a big alternator. Turned loose on a purpose-built engine, this blower can support 775 hp, according to Vortech. In the ’10 Camaro kit designed for a stock application, it makes a claimed 625 hp, bumping up the stock car’s 420 number by a full 205 horses. That’s with a six-speed manual car; with an automatic, it makes 581 hp compared with 400 stock.

The supercharger kit comes with everything you need to install it, including bigger injectors, an SCT handheld programmer to tweak the factory ECU, an air-to-air intercooler that mounts inside the car’s fascia, and the 10-rib beltdrive system. You can install it yourself, but set aside a full weekend if you’ve never done it before.

A manufacturer can claim what it wants, but we wanted to see for ourselves how much power the car made and how quick it ran. To eliminate tire spin, we made Vortech add some Mickey Thompson Drag Radials and upgrade the clutch, then we huffed it to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, to make a few passes. Tire spin wasn’t really a problem with the Mickeys, and we made easy 1.78-second 60-foot times, but there was a fine line between tire spin and going into wheelhop. Leaving at 2,800 rpm seemed to be the sweet spot—any more than that and it either spun the tires or went into wheelhop. The car was a bracket racer, with three passes in the 11.80s and (after we let it cool off for about a half hour with the hood up) a best of 11.84 at 118.97 mph. After the runs, we drove it to Westech Performance, where it laid down 567.6 hp and 529.1 lb-ft of torque on Westech’s Superflow chassis dyno.

With a price of $6,295.95 for the satin-finished blower ($7,671.95 polished), a blown Camaro that makes roughly the same power as the new ZL1 can be had far cheaper than the Big Boy.

The V-3 Si-trim blower mounts to the passenger side of the engine. Its oiling system is self contained, so you don’t have to poke a hole into the engine’s oil pan, and the drive is a 10-rib belt with an automatic belt tensioner and an ATI Super Damper crank damper. HRM